A Lover's Blues
by Chungsoft
Summary: An emotional Rock n Roll love story with characters of SMJ. Based on real history happened in the 60's about 3 legendary guitarists. I wish guitar playingmusic loving SMJ fans, or may be even you weren't, will love to read it. Please review.
1. The Beginning

A Lover's Blues  
===============  
  
written by Chungsoft  
  
Chungsoft's Lime Worship Shrine  
http://www.geocities.com/csftlime/Lime/  
  
written in Feb, 2003  
  
--  
  
Introduction  
  
This story is a Rock and Roll love story, which is inspired and highly influenced by many sources. The surroundings are inspired from Rick's Saber Marionette 90210 fan fic, the characters are based on the original Saber Marionette J anime series, the backbone of the story is based on a real rock and roll history happened in the 60's about the 3 legendary guitarists of that era, also added many experiences in my life. I truely hope this fic will appeal to guitar playing or music loving SMJ fans. This is my first ever fan fic, and the longest story I have ever written. I hope it won't disappoint you. Anyway I always wanted to make my imagination into reality so I can say I did it for myself. Hope you enjoy it.  
  
The background was Terra 2, but both real men and woman existed. The surroundings are very different from the original anime series, you can actually suppose this story happened a hundred years after the time when the story of the anime series started. But somehow the alter-ego of characters in a hundred years ago are in the story.  
  
I added a few new characters. You will know more about them after reading further and you should understand the truth about them in the end.  
  
I didn't write any songs appeared in this story. They are real songs on this planet Earth and belong to their respective owners.  
  
Although the story is based on real history, please note that many parts of this story are completely fictional.  
  
When you read later on, you will find this story more and more emotional. Try to feel how the characters feel if you like to. But be prepapred, it's really heartbreaking in some scenes near the end.  
  
This story was written like a movie, you can use your imagination to create the movie in your mind.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
--  
  
1. The Beginning  
  
Just another ordinary morning at Japones International School. This school was not very famous, but not infamous either. It had a quite good reputation around Japones downtown area as this school's focused on creativity and art. They believed the quality of a student was not measured by academic results only. Nevertheless they got quite good academic results, not the best in the area but still quite good. Parents around the area were more than pleased to let their kids got into a school like this. There were many colorful characters in this school that made this school distinctive.  
  
As usual, 8am, a bus of student arrived the front door of the school.  
  
Lime, Cherry and Bloodbery got out of the bus.  
  
"Why do they have to pick us up at seven forty five? So early!" Bloodberry was yawning. She chatted with a net friend until very late last night and she apparently needed more sleep.  
  
"I told you not to chat that late." Cherry said. "The bell rings at 8:30. Lime, here you are, your hamster food mix. Have a good time with Squirrelly."  
  
"Thank you Cherry! See you!" Lime quickly ran to the trees area in the park of JIS.  
  
"How about you Cherry? What are you going to do now?" asked Bloodberry.  
  
"I will go to the library. I need to take this time to do some research on a project with the computers."  
  
"Ok see you around."  
  
--  
  
Lime climbed up a tree, and took out the hamster food from her pocket.  
  
"Squirrelly? Squirrelly? Where are you?"  
  
A cute squirrel came out, he was looking at Lime. Lime reached out her hands to touch it. The squirrel was smelling Lime's fingers. Squirrelly might have recognized Lime's smell since a long time ago, but he still did it to show that he was friendly and a way to be polite.  
  
"Oh Squirrelly, how are you? Hey I brought you some food!"  
  
Lime put some hamster food in her hand and Squirrelly enjoyed the food a lot.  
  
The food was some peanuts, pop corn, dog biscult and dried fruit. Lime bought it from a pet store nearby.  
  
Lime was pleased that Squirrelly enjoyed it. After Squirrelly finished, she caressed Squirrelly's back and started talking to him.  
  
"The breakfast cooked by Cherry was delicious! I wanted to have more, but Cherry said I had way too much. But I think I only had 3 bowls of rice..."  
  
--  
  
In the Library, Cherry was busy looking at the results returned from Hoogle. When she clicked on a link and waited it to load, she looked around and saw it was Faust sitting next to her, using the computer next to her.  
  
Faust was well known as a straight-A genius in the school. He was a skinny guy came from a middle class family. He was from Gartland. He and Cherry were the top students in the class.  
  
"Hi Faust! Good morning! What are you doing?"  
  
"Well I'm checking the web to kind of explore further use of my 8 track."  
  
Faust had a passion to blues music. He was a very good guitar player - indeed he was one of the best in the school. Also he was a master of using his 8 track machine that he bought from eBay.  
  
"I'm really a fan of your music, Faust." said Cherry. "You always make something different."  
  
"Oh really? Thank you so much. Oh yeah - I recorded a demo last night and I made a MP3 on my private website. Do you want to give me some comments or ideas?"  
  
"Sure! It's great to hear something by you in advance!"  
  
Faust downloaded the clip and played it in low volume.  
  
--  
  
In an empty classroom, Eric, came from Xian, was tuning his guitar. Eric was the another best guitarist in this school along with Faust. They were friends, Eric did contribute in Faust's recording for a few times, although they were friends there was some sort of competition between them. Eric was the first guitar hero in the school. He used a Gibson Les Paul plugged into a Marshall amplifier to produce a thick and dirty tone. Faust was using a Fender Telecaster but after he heard Eric he used Les Paul and Marshall too.  
  
He was pissed. He just had an arguement with his band leader.  
  
"What is this crap? Aren't we an R&B band?"  
  
"Come on Eric, what's your problem? This song is poppy but people will like it!"  
  
"No, I hate this track. I always want to stick with blues."  
  
"Eric, don't you see? This song is on the top of the school chart among music clubs vote! People like it! We are going to produce more songs in this direction."  
  
"Ok, fine, look, I will quit then."  
  
"What the hell? You think I will change my mind? Fine, we will find someone else!"  
  
So now what could Eric do? He was alone now. For now he couldn't play without a band.  
  
When he was tuning the guitar, he looked out of the window.  
  
It was a blue haired girl sitting on a tree branch playing with something really small he didn't know what it was.  
  
"How did she go up there?" Eric wondered. He could only see her back. "I seldom see a girl climb up a tree."  
  
Eric was always a lone wolf. And he was one of the most down to earth person you could ever see on the planet. He was confident but he didn't like to show off much. He was just a simple guy. He just wanted to do his job well and be a nice person.  
  
After tuning his guitar, he looked out at the corridor and saw a few girls looking at him. The girls saw him looked back, and they laughed with each other. One of them came towards Eric, and Eric didn't know what to do.  
  
"Hi are you Eric, the legendary guitarist? You look more handsome than I thought."  
  
Many people said Eric was handsome, but let me tell ya, he didn't give a damn.  
  
"Well yeah... I'm Eric." Eric looked down.  
  
"Hmm... do you mind if we go to the canteen and have a drink?"  
  
Eric was thinking, "Wow, girls nowadays... asking a guy for a drink? Isn't it supposed that a guy take the initiative to ask a girl for a drink?"  
  
Eric had some resistance towards girls. He had an elder brother, who had a bad girl friend. He loved his girl friend a lot but finally his girl friend left him because he was poor. She married to a rich man and finally his brother killed himself. Since that experience Eric felt sick of those selfish, greedy woman, and he thought 95% of girls nowadays were this kind of people.  
  
"No thanks." As usual, Eric turned down a female once again. He thought surely this girl was not his cup of tea.  
  
The girl was embarressed. She was turned down.  
  
"Ok then... Bye."  
  
She walked away quickly.  
  
After that, Eric put the guitar into it's case. When he was about to get out of the classroom, he saw Ginger at the door.  
  
Ginger, a rather tall young man who was older than Eric, was the president of the Jazz club. He was a great drummer, the best in the school and he was confident. He could play a drum orchestra all by himself. He sounded like 2 or 3 drummers playing when he played. He used 2 bass drums and played with all hands and legs at the same time.  
  
"I heard you just quited your band."  
  
"Yes... words spread so quickly don't they?"  
  
"Of course, you are Eric of JIS! Everybody cares about you are having no band to play with!"  
  
"Ok... Well... I hope this won't be the end of my career."  
  
"Actually I am thinking about creating a new band, to produce a sound that is different. Do you want to join us?"  
  
Eric was more than glad to accept it. "Sure! It would be a dream come true to play with you! What are the other band members?"  
  
"Well... I think we only need a bass player. I'm thinking about Jack, who is a committee member of the Jazz club and he is a great bass player. I will talk to him."  
  
"That's great!"  
  
--  
  
Go to Chapter 2, "Introducing Otaru". 


	2. Introducing Otaru

2. Introducing Otaru  
  
The bell rang.  
  
"Squirrelly, I will see you soon." Squirrelly heard the bell too and he knew Lime was about to leave.  
  
She climbed down from the tree branch, took her books and walked inside the school building quickly.  
  
She was on the corridor about to walk into her classroom. Eric was putting his guitar into his locker on the corridor and he saw Lime.  
  
"Isn't that girl who sat on the tree branch?" Eric thought.  
  
Cherry and Bloodberry were already in the classroom. And Cherry was still talking to Faust.  
  
"Hao Faust!" Lime said.  
  
"Hi Lime! How are you? I'm talking with Cherry about the gig in the hall next week. It is held by all music clubs in this school, it will be great! Many student and I will contribute and Cherry will come to see me play. Would you like to come?"  
  
"Oh that will be wonderful!" Lime was a Jazz fan. She liked Jazz since it's very relaxing. "I will come too!"  
  
"Fine I will buy the ticket for you." said Cherry.  
  
"Thank you so much Cherry!" Lime said.  
  
"Hey Cherry, don't forget to buy one for me too." Bloodberry said. Bloodberry was always a hardcore heavy rock fan.  
  
The teacher came, it was Lorrelei.  
  
All students went back to their seats.  
  
"Ahem... Here I would like to introduce you a new member of the class."  
  
A short guy with a bunch of brown hair in the front of his head entered.  
  
"His name is Otaru." said Lorrelei as she wrote his name on the blackboard. "He came from New Texas."  
  
Bloodberry was looking at Otaru. "Cherry, that guy is a great looking fellow, isn't he?"  
  
"Yes he is."  
  
"Otaru, you may take a seat." said Lorrelei.  
  
As Otaru walked towards the seats, Bloodberry, who was near him, said "Hey, you can sit here."  
  
Otaru saw Bloodberry, and he went and sat next to Bloodberry.  
  
"Thank you. What's your name?"  
  
"My name is Bloodberry. They are my sisters, Lime and Cherry."  
  
"Oh nice to meet you all." said Otaru.  
  
"You came from New Texas? How was that place?" asked Cherry.  
  
"Well it's nice, it's where I was born. But not long after my family moved to many different places. I can't remember how many different school's I've been in for the past years."  
  
"So you are like a gypsy?" asked Cherry.  
  
"Well yes... the best thing about it is we don't have to pay much taxes."  
  
"So you only study here for a short time?" asked Cherry.  
  
"Well... actually no. My father told me that we will stay here for a long long time. He was in an army before and one of his friend in the army lives here. They are really good friends and when my father heard his friend got 3 daughters, he said he had to move here and marry me to one of his daughters." said Otaru. "I think he is thinking about my future too much. I'm worrying what will happen but I dare not to disobey my father. My father is a real soldier, he treats me like a soldier and I have to take his orders. Or else he will kick my ass."  
  
"I see..." Cherry was thinking how poor this Otaru is.  
  
"My father was in an army too but he never treat us like that." said Lime.  
  
"Really? Well lucky you." said Otaru.  
  
"Do you know there is a gig in the hall next week?" said Lime.  
  
"Oh yes, I read the notice outside. I'm thinking if I can contribute in it."  
  
"You play instruments? What do you play?" asked Bloodberry.  
  
"I'm a guitarist. I think I'm pretty good."  
  
"Oh! Then you have to meet Faust and Eric, they are the best guitarists in the school." said Cherry.  
  
"Hmmm... I see. Actually I have heard about their names before. I always want to meet and play with them.  
  
--  
  
The bell rang. Finally school was finished.  
  
Faust was busy, he knew about the gig next week and he wanted to do something different in the gig. He currently had no band and he was trying to organize one.  
  
He saw many performances in some gigs before. He had a vision about how his music would be like and he needed some people to help him achieve it.  
  
He was interested in the band Saber Dolls. It's a rock and roll band with distinctive style. Panther, who was a fierce drummer, had a thunderous drumming style. Luchs, a good, intelligent bass player who could also play the keyboard. Tiger, a singer with a special voice and style. They just lost their guitarist and now Faust realized he could not miss that chance.  
  
"Ahem... so you are the Saber Dolls?"  
  
"We used to be." said Panther. "What can I do for you, the blues great Mr Faust?"  
  
"Well... you know there is a gig in the hall next week? I know you lost your guitarist..."  
  
"So you want to join us?" Said Luch.  
  
"Exactly... I want to start a new band. I have some demos and how about you come to my home and jam about it? I think you are the excellent choice to be the members of the new band."  
  
"That's great! We have nothing to do without a guitarist anyway. We are glad to work with a great guitarist like you." said Tiger.  
  
--  
  
Go to Chapter 3, "Eric Met Otaru". 


	3. Eric Met Otaru

3. Eric Met Otaru  
  
"Hey Cherry, which are Faust and Eric?" asked Otaru.  
  
"The guy over there near the window talking to 3 girls is Faust." said Cherry, "And that one in the corner is Eric."  
  
"I see. Thanks Cherry I will talk to them."  
  
Faust was discussing with the Saber Dolls. Otaru approached to them but then he realized Faust was busy, so he didn't wanna bother them.  
  
Eric was sitting there, packing up the books and pencils. Otaru walked to him.  
  
"Hi, I'm Otaru."  
  
"Hi, I'm Eric, I know your name, Ms Lorrelei just introduced you to us."  
  
"I have heard about you before, Eric. I've heard of your innovative guitar tone, flawless, precise guitar improvisation with very complex technique and solo architecture. You are famous in this area."  
  
"Are you a guitarist?"  
  
"Yes. I always like to see how you play in live. I learnt something from you indeed."  
  
"Really?" Eric saw that he had a guitarist fan. "I will go to the Jazz club room to jam with my new bandmates. Do you wanna come?"  
  
"Certainly! Too bad I didn't bring my guitar, I can't jam with you but I would love to see you play."  
  
--  
  
So finally it's after school. Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry was leaving the school building.  
  
"I'm going to play with Squirrelly again." said Lime.  
  
"Don't come home too late. I will cook the dinner." said Cherry.  
  
"Ok see you."  
  
Lime climbed up the tree again. Squirrelly had been there waiting for her, as he heard the bell rang at this time.  
  
"Hmm... it's so comfortable to be here up the tree. The bliss..." Lime talked to Squirrelly again. "Squirrelly you are so cute! Yes Squirrelly, I met a guy called Otaru today, he is a new comer to our class..."  
  
--  
  
Eric and Otaru arrived the Jazz Club room. Ginger and Jack were waiting for them.  
  
"Hi Eric. Jack has decided to join us." said Ginger.  
  
Jack was a short guy who was also older than Eric, but not as old as Ginger.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Eric." said Jack.  
  
"Nice to meet you... so Ginger, what will be the name of this band?"  
  
"I think we have the best players of this school in each position of our band." said Ginger. "We are the Cream!"  
  
"Cream?" said Eric, "That's a nice name... but... do you feel this is a bit arrogant?"  
  
"Hahaha... Yes, it's arrogant. Do you have any good idea?"  
  
"Hmm... we can make it less serious... how about... The... The "Cream Of Chicken"? It's not bad to have a sense of humor."  
  
"Cream of Chicken??" Otaru was laughing loud.  
  
Ginger and Jack thought this name was funny too.  
  
"Well... I think it's ok. So that's it, this band will be called "The Cream... of Chicken"." said Ginger.  
  
"Good... Actually I got a few demos here in my MP3 player." said Jack. "It's a song written by me called "Spoonful". Let's jam with it."  
  
As Eric took his guitar out of his case, he looked out of the window and he saw that again - a blue haired girl sitting on the same tree this morning.  
  
"It's her again!" Eric thought.  
  
He was curious, he was looking at her, tried to figure out what she was doing. She was still playing with something in her hands.  
  
"...this is the guitar part, Eric." Jack said. "Eric, hey."  
  
Eric was looking out of the window.  
  
"ERIC!"  
  
"What? Oh I'm sorry..."  
  
Eric went to listen to Jack. Otaru was sitting at the corner watching what they did.  
  
--  
  
Go to Chapter 4, "Eric Met Lime". 


	4. Eric Met Lime

4. Eric Met Lime  
  
It's about 5pm, Eric and the band must leave.  
  
"Eric, it's inspiring to see you all jamming. You got a great band. I must go now. See you tomorrow." said Otaru.  
  
"Ok see ya!"  
  
Eric walked towards the gate of JIS, and on the way, he saw that blue haired girl on a tree. He knew it's time to check out what she was doing there.  
  
Eric was under the tree, looking up. He saw Lime playing with a squirrel.  
  
Lime saw Eric. Eric saw Lime looking at him, and he looked elsewhere.  
  
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to disturb you. I saw you on the tree this morning and I was thinking what were you doing on the tree actually." said Eric.  
  
Lime put down Squirrelly, and climbed down. Eric saw this girl before, in the class, but the class was a huge one and he didn't know who she was.  
  
"Hao! I am Lime! You must be Eric, how are you?" Lime smiled at Eric. "I heard about you from Cherry before."  
  
Eric saw the smile, and he was stunned by it. He had never seen anything like that before. This girl was like an angel, and her smile is something different, that made him felt different. She was so lovely.  
  
The squirrel jumped to Lime's head. Lime took him and showed him to Eric. "He is Squirrelly, my best friend. He is cute isn't he?"  
  
"So you were playing with Squirrelly?"  
  
"Yes. And I enjoy the view and the breeze up on the tree."  
  
"Hmm... very nice."  
  
"Oh... it's late. I must go home now, or Cherry will be mad at me. Squirrelly, I will see you tomorrow, ok?" Lime put Squirrelly to her cheek, caress him and then kissed him good bye.  
  
Lime put down Squirrelly, Squirrely quickly climbed back to the tree, on the branch he looked at Lime once, and then went straight to a hole in the tree.  
  
--  
  
Lime and Eric were at the gate of JIS. They walked back home together.  
  
"There will be a gig next week, I think you will take part right?" asked Lime.  
  
"Oh yeah... I formed a new band with Ginger and Jack, I will play with them in the gig."  
  
"Oh really! The president of the Jazz Club? I saw him play before and he is excellent! Also Jack, he sounds good!"  
  
"Yes, they are very good. I just jammed with them, I know we are going to be something different. You like Jazz music?"  
  
"Yes, I love it! It's very relaxing! I don't know much about music, but I like to listen to what sounds good. Squirrely loves Jazz music too!"  
  
"I see. Do you like blues?"  
  
"I like blues too! They both sound good. I heard from Cherry that you are a very good blues guitarist!"  
  
"Well... yes I'm a blues guitarist. I'm glad you like blues too. Will you go to the gig next week?"  
  
"Certainly! And I will see you with Ginger and Jack! I think you must sound really good! I'm looking forward to that!"  
  
Eric and Lime had reached Lime's apartment.  
  
"Eric, it's very nice to know you. See you!"  
  
"Ok Lime, take care and see ya."  
  
Lime ran into the building, her blue hair was waving in the air like silk. Eric stood there until he saw Lime went inside the building and closed the door.  
  
"Lime, a really nice girl." Eric thought. "She is so kind, look at how she handled Squirrelly." Then the picture of her smile was in his mind. "Hmm... oh yes I gotta go it's very late."  
  
--  
  
Lime entered her apartment and closed the door.  
  
"Everybody I'm home."  
  
"Lime, the dinner is almost ready." said Cherry, in the kitchen.  
  
Bloodberry was watching TV, the Music channel, which was showing the MTV of one of her favourite, the Kings which had frontman Freddie and the guitarist Brian.  
  
Lime was watching too. "Galileo? I don't understand what they are talking about."  
  
"I don't know too. But this is my favourite song by them."  
  
"Hmm... I think they are too loud."  
  
After the MTV ended, their father, Ieyasu, came out of the bathroom.  
  
"Bloodberry, I want to watch the news."  
  
"Ok dad, I will switch the channel."  
  
"Dinner's ready!" Cherry told everyone.  
  
"Yay! I'm hungry!" said Lime.  
  
The food was grilled fish, deep fried pork chop, soup and rice, Lime's favourite.  
  
"Wah! Looks delicious!"  
  
"Lime wash your hands first!" said Cherry.  
  
"Ok!" Lime quickly went to the bathroom, washed her hands and back to the table.  
  
Lime enjoyed the food. She had always enjoyed the food by Cherry. She could be satisfied easily.  
  
"Cherry, more rice please."  
  
"Oh Lime, there is no more rice already."  
  
"Oh really? Ok, I'm full!"  
  
After dinner, Lime took a shower, did her homework, played some video games, then went to sleep.  
  
"Goodnight, Ponta-kun." She spoke to her doll that she was hugging on the bed, then she closed her eyes.  
  
--  
  
Go to Chapter 5, "The Lone Wolf". 


	5. The Lone Wolf

5. The Lone Wolf  
  
Eric went back to his home. It was actually an apartment in a guesthouse. He greeted the owner of the guesthouse, who was an old lady, then he entered the apartment.  
  
His apartment was pretty standard, a living room, a toilet, a kitchen, and a bed room. There was nobody in the apartment except himself. His family was in Xian and he came here by himself because he liked to study at JIS which truly appreciated art and music, instead of only academic results.  
  
He put down his books and guitar, and sat on the couch. What a day! He had jammed with the best musician he had ever been with in a band. And the best of all - he met Lime.  
  
He was thinking about it. "How could Lime be a bad girl? She is so nice and kind. She is no ordinary girls I saw everyday. She is special. Look at how she be with Squirrelly. She is like someone in a fairy tale."  
  
"Hao! I'm Lime!" Eric remembered the scene, her smile. The way she put Squirrelly on her cheek and kissed him goodbye.  
  
"See you!" Eric remembered the moment she ran to her home. The wave of her hair.  
  
"Lime... she makes me feel so..." Eric didn't know how to describe his feeling.  
  
He was staring at the floor, he looked up and he saw the picture of his brother on the top of the TV.  
  
It was his brother taugh him how to play guitar. His brother was also a great guitarist. He introduced Eric to the world of blues.  
  
And Eric remembered the tragic of his brother.  
  
"Am I in love with Lime?" Eric wondered. He never had such feeling before. He felt that Lime was special and it's safe to be with her.  
  
"She is definately not a bad girl, bro."  
  
Eric got up, took the microwave food from the fridge, put it into the oven and went to the bathroom to take a shower.  
  
Eric was watching TV and having his microwave dinner. It was "The Late Show with Dave" on TV.  
  
"Ha... it's so funny!"  
  
Eric finished his dinner, switched off the TV, did his homework, then went to sleep.  
  
--  
  
Eric was on his bed. Before he closed his eyes he was thinking a lot of things, mainly Lime.  
  
"What am I going to do now?"  
  
Eric was stranded. He knew he wanted her. But he didn't know exactly what to do.  
  
Suddenly, he started to feel that he was so lonely. In the room it was dead silence. He was always a lone wolf, doing everything all by himself, except jamming with his bandmates. No one ever by his side sharing his feelings. What had he got himself into? Lime was a happy girl, but indeed he was sad, he was lonely.  
  
He didn't realize that's why he could play blues so well since his playing got that feel, of course also because of his talent.  
  
Slowly, he felt tired and he fell asleep.  
  
--  
  
"Dad, dad?"  
  
Someone touched Eric. Eric woke up, the sun was shining and the light came into the room. He could see a kid touching him.  
  
"What is that?" Eric was wondering.  
  
"Dad, mum told me to wake you up. It about time and the breakfast is ready."  
  
"Dad? What's that? Where am I?" Eric got up, he was not in his apartment anymore. It was a strange place, but he felt comfortable since this house gave him a warm feeling.  
  
He walked out of the room. The house was larger than his own apartment. He was walking down the stairs.  
  
He sat by the table in the living room. Someone came out of the kitchen.  
  
"Hey darling, you woke up."  
  
It was Lime!  
  
"Mum what are we going to have for breakfast today?" The kid asked the lady.  
  
Eric was thinking, "My kid call her mum? What the..."  
  
--  
  
"BEEP BEEP BEEP... BEEP BEEP BEEP!!"  
  
Eric opened his eyes. It's a dream. He pressed the button of his alarm clock.  
  
He felt so strange. "How could I have such dream?"  
  
Eric was brushing his teeth. And Eric was thinking about the dream.  
  
"Am I supposed to love Lime?"  
  
He took out the sandwich in the fridge, put it into the microwave. He took it out and it's warm.  
  
He poured himself a glass of milk, and he sat down and had his sandwich.  
  
When he was chewing, he was still thinking about the dream.  
  
He looked around, he knew there was nobody in this house.  
  
"I'm so lonely."  
  
"Wouldn't it be great if someone makes breakfast for me?"  
  
"Will it be Lime?"  
  
Eric bit the sandwich again. Chewing it.  
  
"Oh... it will be sooo sweet if Lime will make breakfast for me... everyday."  
  
--  
  
Lime brushed her teeth, came out of her room after dressed her uniform.  
  
"Good morning Lime." said Cherry.  
  
"Good morning." said Bloodberry.  
  
"Everybody, Ha~O!" Lime did that Ha~O! sign again.  
  
"Lime, come and have some breakfast." said Ieyasu.  
  
The breakfast was scrambled eggs, sausages and a toast with a cup of milk tea, cooked by Cherry.  
  
"Oh it's wonderful!" said Lime.  
  
Lime and Bloodberry was having their breakfast, Ieyasu had already finished and reading the newspaper. Cherry came out of the kitchen and sit down. Before she had her breakfast, she saw her sisters were enjoying the breakfast. She was very pleased. This was a great family.  
  
--  
  
Eric entered JIS through the gate, then he walked straight to the trees.  
  
As usual, Lime was there with Squirrelly.  
  
"Eric, Hao!"  
  
"Hi Lime! Good morning. Do you mind I come up there?"  
  
"No. Please come."  
  
Eric put down his guitar case next to the tree, and began to climb up the tree.  
  
Eric was a bit clumsy when climbing the tree.  
  
"Eric, be careful."  
  
"It's ok I'm fine."  
  
Finally he got up there.  
  
"I think I almost never climbed a tree before in my life." said Eric. "But it's worth it, it's so comfortable up here."  
  
"Exactly!" said Lime, smiling.  
  
"Yeah Lime, I got something for you." Eric opened his backpack and took out a plastic box. He opened it.  
  
"Lime, this is some Xian style dim sum I bought at the restaurant nearby my home. Do you wanna try?"  
  
"Wah! Eric you are so nice!"  
  
Eric took out the chopstick and they enjoyed the food. Squirrelly was having the hamster food and Eric and Lime were having the dim sum.  
  
"Hmm... they are delicious. Thank you so much Eric."  
  
"You are welcome, Lime. If you don't mind I can buy different kinds of food and share with you here every morning when we are at school."  
  
"That's great! Does that bother you?"  
  
"Don't worry Lime, no problem, we are good friends."  
  
Eric felt that he had achieved one of the biggest goal in his life when he made Lime happy.  
  
Since then every morning other than a blue haired girl and a squirrel on the tree branch, there was also Eric.  
  
--  
  
Go to Chapter 6, "The Cream Of Chicken". 


	6. The Cream Of Chicken

6. The Cream Of Chicken  
  
A week later, in the morning.  
  
"Cherry, I want more rice." said Lime.  
  
"Ok..." Cherry put more rice in Lime's bowl.  
  
"Today after school it will be the big gig held by all music clubs! I'm so excited!" said Bloodberry.  
  
"Yes, I wonder what Faust will do with his new band." said Cherry.  
  
"I want to see Ginger, Jack and Eric!" said Lime.  
  
Ieyasu was reading the newspaper. He put away the newspapers, and looked at the girls.  
  
"Girls, I want to tell you something. Today an old friend of mine and his son will come to visit us in the evening. He just moved back to this area and I haven't seen him for 20 years. He is a very good friend of mine. So you must come home on time tonight. I don't want to see one of you not showing up when they come. OK?"  
  
"Ok dad!" said all 3 sisters.  
  
--  
  
The gig was about to start, Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry went into the hall and found the seats.  
  
"It seems the gig was sold out." said Cherry.  
  
A guy came sat next to Bloodberry. Bloodberry looked at him.  
  
"Otaru? Why are you here? You are supposed to take part in the gig right?"  
  
"Oh... sorry, I'm not Otaru." The Otaru looked-alike said. "My name is Akashi. I'm Otaru's cousin. Many people had confused me with Otaru. We look so alike that people think we are twins."  
  
"I see. Nice to meet you Akashi. My name is Bloodberry." said Bloodberry.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Bloodberry." said Akashi.  
  
--  
  
The show went on for more than an hour.  
  
"I really like the band Rolling Rocks." said Bloodberry.  
  
"I think it's ok." said Lime.  
  
Then, a yellow haired skinny young man, in a cow boy outfit, holding an acoustic guitar, entered the stage. He sat in the middle of the stage.  
  
"Hello everyone." said the young man, "I'm Hanagata. This song is called "Mother Nature's Son"."  
  
"No! Not him again!" said Bloodberry, she then covered her ears with her hands.  
  
"~~~ Born a poor young country boy ~~~"  
  
The audience all covered their ears with their hands.  
  
"Man! He sounds worse than Marison Manlyn!"  
  
"Noise pollution!"  
  
"Somebody kill that bitch!"  
  
But Hanagata ignored them, he was enjoying.  
  
Then, a million chairs were threw towards Hanagata.  
  
"Aw...oh...Aw...oh...ah...it hurts...ah...oh..." The chairs hitted Hanagata.  
  
Finally, it's a piano.  
  
PPPPOOOOWWWW!!!  
  
A while later, Hanagata was brought away on a scretcher.  
  
"Oh he has stopped..." everyone was relieved.  
  
"So he is stopped... ahem ok ladies and gentleman!" The announcer said. "I know you've been waiting for this moment for so long. Yes the rumor is true, Eric, Ginger and Jack are going to play together! Let's welcome - the Cream of Chicken!"  
  
The spectators applaused loudly. And Eric, Ginger and Jack entered the stage. Behind them was a set of around 8ft tall 3-stack Marshall 100watts amplifiers, all set to full bass, full treble, full presence and full volume.  
  
"Hey it's Eric!" said Lime.  
  
"Thank you. Thank you very much." Eric thanked the crowd.  
  
"This is a number written by Jack, called "Spoonful"." said Eric in front of the microphone.  
  
The music began.  
  
Jack sang.  
  
"Could fill spoons full of diamonds,  
Could fill spoons full of gold.  
Just a little spoon of your precious love  
Satisfy my soul..."  
  
"...Could fill spoons full of coffee,  
Could fill spoons full of tea.  
Just a little spoon of your precious love  
Is that enough for me?..."  
  
"... That spoon, that spoon, that spoonful... spoonful yeah..."  
  
After singing the whole lyrics, they started to have a long jam.  
  
The Cream of Chicken was a great improvisation band. Ginger was doing his excellent drumming. Jack, was not only playing rhythm, he was playing creative melodies with his bass.  
  
Eric kept producing different segments of guitar solo with his guitar. They were melodic with sophisicated technique.  
  
The whole thing put together was something the audience never heard before, the sound they made was very intense in feel, liked a fire which was burning vigorously. They were pushing each other to higher grounds.  
  
"Eric used many blues styles in his jamming." Cherry said. "But they make it more uptempo, with Eric's distorted guitar tone. It's like... a fusion of rock and blues."  
  
"Really? Hmm... I don't know. But the sound Eric is making is very melodic." said Lime.  
  
It's been a very long time. But they were still jamming. They were still full of new ideas in their jamming, and there was no sign that it was getting weaker.  
  
"They've been jamming for more than 10 minutes!" said Akashi. "No one had ever done something like this live before!"  
  
A couple of minutes later, the jamming stopped and the band went back to the rhythm at the beginning. Jack sang.  
  
"... spoonful, spoonful, spoonful...  
  
Everyone was lying about the... Spoonful!"  
  
The band made the ending. And the audience clapped their hands loudly again.  
  
Eric went to take a sip to the cup of water on an amplifier. Then he went back to the microphone.  
  
"We would like to do "Crossroads", thank you."  
  
The audience applaused.  
  
The music began. "Crossroads" was originally a slow blues song, but the band made it very uptempo.  
  
"I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees..." Eric sang the song.  
  
"...I'm going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side.  
You can still barrelhouse baby, on the riverside..."  
  
Eric then played a melodic 30 seconds solo.  
  
"...Going down to Rosedale..." Eric sang the chorus again. Then came the second solo.  
  
The 1 minute improvised solo was very tight, energetic with complex technique. All 3 members fitted together very well. It's progressive, going to the climax step by step. The design of the whole solo was superb.  
  
"This is the definately one of the best solo Eric ever played." said Cherry. "It's excellent!"  
  
"Yes I agree!" said Lime. "It sounds great!"  
  
"... Can run you can run, tell my friend-boy Willie Brown..."  
  
"... and I'm standing at the crossroads, believe I'm sinking down."  
  
After Eric sang, the band made an ending. And the audiences made a thunderous applause.  
  
"Eric please." said Jack.  
  
"Thank you." said Eric.  
  
Then the Cream of Chicken went down the stage.  
  
Eric saw Faust and the Saber Dolls coming up.  
  
"Hey Eric, great band, great show! But let me tell ya, I'm not gonna let you steal the show." said Faust.  
  
"Oh really? I'm shaking." said Eric.  
  
Faust hit Eric's shoulder twice with his palm softly and went on, they were both smiling.  
  
"Boys and Girls! Here comes the electricfying qaurtet which has the blues great Faust. The Titanic! Let's give them a big hand!" said the announcer.  
  
--  
  
Go to Chapter 7, "The Titanic". 


	7. The Titanic

7. The Titanic  
  
The Titanic, consist of Faust, as guitarist, Tiger, as singer, Luchs, as bass and keyboard player, and Panther, as drummer, appeared on stage.  
  
The audience were clapping their hands and expecting to see what will happen next.  
  
Faust was wearing a black suit with some dragon pattern on it. His guitar, a sun burst Gibson Les Paul, was slung lower than anyone.  
  
"Look at Faust! He looks so cool!" said Lime.  
  
"Yes I agree. I have never seen him dressed like this before." said Cherry.  
  
"Hello everyone, thank you." said Tiger. "This song is called "Communication Breakdown"."  
  
The song started with Faust playing a thick, heavy note constantly, it has been heavy since the beginning. It's not the bluesy stuff he used to play.  
  
"Heeeeeyyyyy boy," sang Tiger, "stop what you're doing.  
Heeeeeyyyyy boy, you'll drive me in ruin.  
I don't know what it is about you but I like it a lot..."  
  
Soon after, it's the chorus.  
  
"...Communication breakdown!  
It's always the same.  
I'm having a nervous breakdown,  
Drive me insane..."  
  
"I have never seen Faust played like this before." said Cherry. "His playing is blues influenced, but it's not blues at all."  
  
"It's metal." said Akashi.  
  
"Metal? Then they are the first ever metal band in this school!" said Bloodberry.  
  
Tiger sang again.  
  
"...Heeeeeyyyyy boy, I got something I think you ought to know.  
Heeeeeyyyyy boy, I wanna tell you that I love you so..."  
  
"...Awww..."  
  
After a strong drum beat by Panther, Faust immediately played a blistering, heartstomping solo.Everyone was stunned by the skill of Faust.  
  
Then Tiger sang the chorus again twice, and the song came to an end.  
  
Thunderous applause.  
  
"Faust did it." Cherry thought while she was clapping. "He really sounds different this time."  
  
"Thank you." said Tiger. "This is "Whole Lotta Love"."  
  
It's Faust's heavy bit again. Thick heavy sound.  
  
Tiger sang.  
  
"You need coolin', baby I'm not foolin'  
I'm gonna say it, yeah back to schoolin'  
Way down inside, honey you need it!  
I'm gonna give you my love, I'm gonna give you my love..."  
  
A few drum beats. Then came the chorus.  
  
"Oh... wanna whole lotta love, wanna whole lotta love..."  
  
"You've been learning, baby I mean "Learning"...  
All the good times, baby, baby I've been yearning  
Way, Way down inside, honey you need it!  
I'm gonna give you every inch of my love, gonna give you my love...oh"  
  
Chorus again.  
  
Then it's quiet except Panther was hitting the cymbals constantly. And then some soft drums sound. The stage was dark, the lights were switched off.  
  
When a light was back, it was shining on Faust, who was playing the guitar with a violin bow. Producing a special sound.  
  
"Wow..." Many audiences, including Cherry, was surprised.  
  
"...ah...ah...ahah...looovvveee..." Tiger's voice and Faust guitar sound were going left to right then to left and to right and so on. Pioneering studio tricks.  
  
A while later, some powerful drum beats and a few Faust thunderous riffs.  
  
"...You've been coolin' baby I've droolin'..."  
  
And later, the final part.  
  
"... Way down inside... honey... you need..."  
  
"Looooovvvveee!!!"  
  
Then some heavy bits and it ended.  
  
The crowd applaused again.  
  
"Thank you very much!" said Tiger. "This next song is about a lady who is buying a stairway to heaven."  
  
--  
  
Go to Chapter 8, "Otaru's Debut". 


	8. Otaru's Debut

8. Otaru's Debut  
  
Eric and the gang was in the backstage. Otaru was there.  
  
"Hey Eric, I saw what you did. It's great! Totally changed my outlook."  
  
"Thank you. Otaru, I heard the next one performing will be you."  
  
"Yes... Eric, remember last time I asked you that I need you to back me up since I have no band to play with?"  
  
"Sure, my friend... we are ready." said Eric, Ginger and Jack nodded their head.  
  
"So what song do you want to play?" asked Eric.  
  
"Hmm... as we never played before, we will do an old blues number, "Killing Floor". But I want to play in your uptempo style." said Otaru.  
  
"No problem."  
  
--  
  
"Last but not least, It's Otaru, a new comer to our school, and he has a great band to play with him, let's welcome back on stage, the Cream of Chicken!" the announcer said.  
  
The crowd applaused.  
  
"It's Otaru's turn!" said Bloodberry.  
  
"Yes it is!" said Akashi.  
  
"I want to see how good he is!" said Bloodberry.  
  
The band was on the stage. Otaru took out his guitar, it's a Fender Stratocaster. Otaru tested the guitar, and Eric could hear that his guitar had lots of distortion.  
  
They were ready.  
  
"Let's give a big hand to the cool cat from New Texas, Otaru." said Eric to the microphone.  
  
The crowd gave a louder applause.  
  
"This song is "Killing Floor"." said Otaru.  
  
Then Otaru began to play some chords, he was playing those chords very quickly, and it created a feel that was similar to the earlier performance of the Cream of Chicken, but there was more "fire" in it.  
  
Eric was playing rhythm on behind and watching. He notice that Otaru was better than he expected. He certainly could play! And he archieved that style very well.  
  
Very soon, he pushed it higher and higher, and he was making some body movements. When he did the vibrato, which is wide and well controlled, his pick hand was holding up high.  
  
"This is really good." said Bloodberry. "Look at him! The feel of his playing is great!"  
  
Eric saw every movement of him. And his expression. Eric knew that Otaru was very into his music when he played.  
  
Compare to Otaru, Eric realized he was just standing there, almost not moving except his hands and arms, with emotionless expression looking at the guitar.  
  
Then Otaru began to sing.  
  
"I should have quit you  
A long time ago.  
I should have quit you baby  
A long time ago  
But you got me messin' round with you baby  
You got me cryin' on a killin' floor, yeah..."  
  
It was a standard blues song, with bluesy lyrics and rhythm, but the playing was more like rock and roll, with very high intensity.  
  
After a while, Otaru began to play the solo. He shaked his head with an expression showed that he was very intense and he was moving his body.  
  
"He... he plays the guitar as if it's part of his body!" thought Eric.  
  
Then Otaru played a blistering solo, as blistering as Eric. And there was a very unique feel in his solo.  
  
"Look at the way he used the tremolo bar, the feel he generates..." Eric thought.  
  
Otaru moved his body even harder, with that intense expression. He was not just playing guitar, he was moving his body to make the feel went higher and higher. But while he was doing it, he still could produce the solo that sounded so good.  
  
And then he did some hammer on, and then slowly the song came to an end.  
  
Eric was totally stunned. He was very impressed.  
  
He was thinking, "Otaru is no ordinary guitarist... he is good... or if he is... better than me."  
  
The crowd replied with a thunderous applause. They were surprised that this new guy was so good.  
  
"I love it!" said Bloodbery. "I love his playing!"  
  
"Yes it's good!" said Cherry,  
  
"It's quite good." said Lime, "But I like Eric's performance more. I like his melodies. Why didn't he play something when he was there?"  
  
--  
  
Eric, Otaru walked down the stage. Eric pretended to be calm. They were in the backstage.  
  
"Otaru, you are very good." said Eric, looking down.  
  
"Thanks, you are very good too." said Otaru. "Sorry guys, I have to go now. I have something to do this evening. I will see you all tomorrow."  
  
"See ya." Ginger and Jack said. Eric only raised his hand to make a good bye sign, still looking down.  
  
Otaru was gone. "Jeez... Otaru is really something isn't it?" said Ginger.  
  
Eric got to a seat at backstage, sat down, then he covered his face with his hands.  
  
"Awwww...." He was moaning in misery. Like his career was over.  
  
Eric realized that this was no longer a game between only him and Faust. Here came Otaru.  
  
"Hey Eric, what's the matter?" asked Ginger.  
  
"Otaru... he... he is so good."  
  
"Oh come on... yes he is good, but don't worry he is not as good as you. All he did was just some fancy tricks! We have the best guitarist."  
  
"No... you don't understand." Eric thought they didn't see the finer details of Otaru's playing that he could see.  
  
Eric was feeling really bad.  
  
"Eric."  
  
He heard a familiar female voice. He looked up, it was Lime.  
  
"Hi Lime..." Eric looked at her and pretended he had nothing wrong.  
  
"Eric you were wonderful on stage! Your playing was so melodic! It sounded really good! You are the best!"  
  
"Really... Thank you so much Lime." Eric was pleased that Lime liked his playing.  
  
"Eric," said Lime, "You are my hero."  
  
Then Lime kissed Eric on his cheek.  
  
Eric was thrilled!  
  
"Eric I have something to do this evening and I have to go home now... see you." Lime turned around and went away quickly.  
  
Eric was just sitting there, looking Lime getting away, not moving even one finger.  
  
Ginger and Jack saw all that. "Jeez... look at Eric, see! Hahahaha..." Ginger and Jack was laughing.  
  
But Eric didn't hear them. He was like turned into a stone.  
  
A couple of minutes later, he woke up. It was like a dream, everything went in slow motion.  
  
He felt so good. He forgot completely that just 3 minutes ago he was moaning in misery.  
  
A smile appeared on Eric's face. He got up, took his guitar and quickly walked away.  
  
"Hey Eric see you tomorrow." said Ginger. But Eric didn't hear him.  
  
He walked through the park on his way to the gate. The sun was shining and the breeze was comfortable, birds were flying over. It's a great day! He felt great!  
  
--  
  
Go to Chapter 9, "Otaru's Engagement". 


	9. Otaru's Engagement

9. Otaru's Engagement  
  
The 3 sisters were at home sitting at the couch, waiting for their father's friend to come.  
  
The door bell rang.  
  
"Here they come!" Ieyasu opened the door. "Old Sam!"  
  
"Oh Ieyasu! How are you?" said Uncle Sam.  
  
They hugged each other.  
  
"How are you old friend? It's been 20 years since last time I saw you!" said Ieyasu.  
  
"Yeah... time passes so quickly. I nearly can't recognize you!"  
  
"You don't look much different than 20 years ago though..." said Ieyasu, "Except your hair turned white."  
  
Uncle Sam was a thin, old man, with white hair and long white beard.  
  
"I can't believe it's been 20 years... hey son." Uncle Sam called his son, who was hiding behind.  
  
"Hey son, don't be shy, come on in." said Uncle Sam.  
  
His son was not coming.  
  
"God damn it..." Uncle Sam when out and pulled his son inside.  
  
His son came in and he saw the 3 sisters.  
  
The 3 sisters saw the young fellow, and they were all astonished.  
  
"Otaru!"  
  
Otaru stood there, in shock. He couldn't believe those 3 daughters his father told him were them.  
  
Bloodberry remembered what Otaru told them when they first met in class.  
  
"So... one of us have to marry Otaru!" they realized.  
  
"... yeah those were the days..." Uncle Sam saw his son and the 3 sisters while he was talking to Ieyasu.  
  
"Oh, Ieyasu, your kids are all very pretty!" said Uncle Sam.  
  
"Girls, this is Uncle Sam." said Ieyasu.  
  
"Good evening Uncle Sam." All 3 sister said.  
  
"This is Lime, Cherry and Bloodberry." Ieyasu told Uncle Sam.  
  
"I see... yeah girls, this is my son Otaru."  
  
"We know Otaru, we met in school before." said Bloodberry.  
  
"Oh really? How nice." said Uncle Sam.  
  
Uncle Sam pushed Otaru lightly in the back. "Otaru, go sit with them."  
  
"Yes father..."  
  
Otaru went to the couch, where there was enough space for 1 more person. He sat next to Bloodberry.  
  
Uncle Sam knew exactly what he should do. "Hey Ieyasu, I want to see some of your photographs."  
  
"Oh yeah come here I will show you." Ieyasu guided Uncle Sam into the room.  
  
The 3 sisters and Otaru were alone in the living room. Otaru was embarressed.  
  
They were just sitting there. Total silence. The 3 sisters and Otaru would like to talk, but they didn't know what to say.  
  
Otaru looked around, looked at them, Bloodberry was next to him.  
  
Bloodberry... she looked good. She was beautiful. He never looked so closely.  
  
"Hmm... foxy lady..." Otaru had a song in his mind.  
  
Bloodberry noticed that he was staring at her. She blushed. "Hmm... Otaru, so you will have to marry one of us."  
  
"Er... yes, very likely."  
  
Otaru looked at each 3 of them. He was thinking, "If I can choose one of them, who should I choose?"  
  
Otaru couldn't make a decision for now.  
  
"... And, are they willing to marry me?" Otaru thought, "It will be hard for each of us."  
  
It's still dead silence.  
  
"Er... I need to go to the washroom." said Otaru, and he left.  
  
They heard Otaru closed the washroom door.  
  
"So, do you mind if you have to marry Otaru?" asked Cherry to her sisters.  
  
"Hmm... I won't mind, if I really have to." said Bloodberry. "I think Otaru is cute. And I'm his biggest fan too."  
  
"How about you Lime?" asked Cherry.  
  
"Hmm... I don't know. May be I should discuss with Squirrelly." said Lime.  
  
"Cherry, how about you then?" asked Bloodberry.  
  
"I think Otaru is ok... but..." Cherry was thinking about Faust. Then she began to fantasize.  
  
"Oh Faust, I don't need Otaru, all I want is you!"  
  
"Oh Cherry, you are so sweet..." said Faust. And Faust was about to kiss her.  
  
"Oh no... don't... so many people are watching us... no..."  
  
"OH NNNNOOOO!!!" Cherry screamed.  
  
Otaru, Ieyasu and Uncle Sam all rushed out.  
  
"What's the matter?" Ieyasu was shocked.  
  
Cherry woke up from her fantasy. "Oh... I'm sorry... I'm fine... sorry..." She blushed.  
  
Bloodberry sighed. "She did it again..."  
  
--  
  
In the morning, Lime was sitting on the tree branch again.  
  
"... guess what? He was Otaru! One of us will have to marry him." Lime told Squirrelly. "My father hasn't made up the decision that which of us will marry him yet. Do you think I should marry Otaru?"  
  
"gee..." said Squirrelly.  
  
"Hmm... yes, me too. I really don't know." said Lime.  
  
Lime saw Eric approaching.  
  
"Oh it's Eric! Hao Eric!" Lime was waving her arm.  
  
"Hey Lime... I'm sorry I can't be here now since I have to go to the Jazz Club room to jam with Ginger and Jack."  
  
"I see. It's fine."  
  
"Oh yeah Lime, see what I brought you?" Eric showed Lime something.  
  
"McGroovey Chicken burger! I love it!" said Lime.  
  
"Hey catch it." Eric threw the paper warped burger to Lime. Lime caught it with both hands.  
  
"Thank you so much Eric! You are so nice!"  
  
"Enjoy it! See you soon."  
  
"See you!" Lime waved her arm again.  
  
--  
  
Go to Chapter 10, "The Otaru Experience". 


	10. The Otaru Experience

10. The Otaru Experience  
  
On the school corridor, Eric saw Otaru with 2 guys.  
  
"Hey my friend, what's up?" said Eric.  
  
"Eric, I have to tell you a good news. Now I have my own band." said Otaru.  
  
"Really? That's great!"  
  
"Here are my new bandmates." Otaru introduced Eric to his new band. "This is Bill, he is our bass player. And this is Akashi, our drummer."  
  
Eric looked at Akashi. "Oh... Otaru you got a twin brother?"  
  
--  
  
Eric arrived Jazz Club room. Ginger and Jack were there practising, fooling around.  
  
"Hey Ginger, Jack. Good morning."  
  
"Good morning Eric." said Ginger.  
  
"Yeah, Otaru had booked the hall for today after school to show his new band. He invited us to see them. Will you guys come?"  
  
"Sure!" said Ginger. "Yes I will." said Jack.  
  
"We will check them out, see what they will do." said Eric.  
  
"Er... yeah did you saw that movie showing at channel 4 8pm last night? That was a great movie, very touching." Eric said.  
  
"You mean "The Led Zeppelin", the movie about a young boy and a young girl's love story happened in the falling airship? It's one of my favourite." said Jack.  
  
"It's my favourite too." said Ginger.  
  
"Yes exactly. I heard a song in the movie called "Bell Bottom Blues", it was played near the end, it's very good. May be we can jam with it and perform it in our next gig to pay tribute to this great movie." said Eric. "The audience will love it."  
  
--  
  
Eric and the gang walked into the hall and found their seats.  
  
"Ladies and Gentleman! Welcome to the show. Here let's welcome on stage, The Otaru Experience!"  
  
Otaru and his band entered the stage. Otaru was wearing a colourful psychedelic outfit.  
  
"That is outrageous!" Eric thought of Otaru's outfit.  
  
"Hey it's Akashi. I taugh him a thing or two before." said Ginger.  
  
A few songs later...  
  
"This next song is called "Foxy Lady". I dedicate this song to the one sat next to me on a couch last night."  
  
The music began.  
  
"I really think Otaru has got a great band." said Eric. "And I think we have to do something to keep up the competition."  
  
"Hmm?" Ginger and Jack looked at Eric.  
  
"Do you think it's nesessary?" asked Jack.  
  
"Hey, come on, I like his style. I will head in this way." said Eric. "There is nothing to lose to change a little bit."  
  
"Ok... so what's your idea?" asked Ginger.  
  
"First, I need more distortion in my guitar." said Eric. "I will switch to Gibson SG. With the similar pick up of my current Les Paul but it has a lighter body, it should produce a more distorted sound. I will add a fuzz effect and a wah wah pedal to my setup too."  
  
"Second, I need to put more soul into my playing. I need to put myself more into the music, more emotion."  
  
"Third, one of us gotta have that haircut." Eric pointing to Otaru's head.  
  
"Hmm... it's ok for me as long as it's not me." said Jack.  
  
--  
  
Go to Chapter 11, "Ieyasu's Decision". 


	11. Ieyasu's Decision

11. Ieyasu's Decision  
  
"I'm home!" Lime closed the door.  
  
Ieyasu was sitting on the couch watching TV, and he saw Lime came home.  
  
"Lime, why do you always have to come home later than your sisters?" said Ieyasu. "What did you do after school?"  
  
"I played with Squirrelly." Lime admitted.  
  
"Oh... the squirrel that you mentioned who lives in the school?" Ieyasu asked.  
  
"Yes, he is my best friend!" answered Lime.  
  
Before that Ieyasu thought Lime went to play with her schoolmates... or she might had a date with someone.  
  
Ieyasu was thinking about something.  
  
--  
  
The 3 sisters and Ieyasu were having dinner at the table in their dinning room.  
  
"Ah! I'm full!" said Lime.  
  
Ieyasu was looking at Lime all the way when they were having dinner.  
  
"Girls. I've made up the decision."  
  
The 3 sisters looked at him. "What decision?" asked Bloodberry.  
  
"I've made up my mind that which of you will marry Otaru." said Ieyasu.  
  
After they heard, The 3 sisters were anxious, they were looking at their father and expecting what he would say next.  
  
"I will marry Lime to Otaru."  
  
Cherry and Bloodberry looked at Lime. Lime was shocked.  
  
"But..." Bloodberry said. "Why? Why it has to be her?"  
  
"Look at Lime." said Ieyasu. "I worry about her. In her mind there is only a squirrel. Otaru is a fine young man, she will be happy to be with him."  
  
"But I..." Bloodberry wanted to say something. But she didn't want it to be heard so she didn't say it.  
  
--  
  
Lime was on her bed, hugging Ponta-kun. She was supposed to sleep but her eyes were wide open.  
  
"I'm going to marry Otaru..." Lime thought. "What can I do?"  
  
Eric came to her mind. She didn't know why. But she didn't think further. She was tired and then she felt asleep.  
  
Bloodberry was in her room, on the bed. She couldn't sleep.  
  
"I don't want Otaru to marry Lime." Bloodberry thought. "I wish Otaru can get married with me."  
  
But her father had made the decision and no one could change it.  
  
"Dammit!!" Bloodberry was frustrated.  
  
--  
  
Next morning, in the school, Bloodberry went to the band room that Otaru usually went to in the morning immediately after she arrived school.  
  
She wanted to meet Otaru, but he wasn't there. Instead it was Akashi practising with his drums.  
  
"Where is Otaru?" asked Bloodberry.  
  
"Otaru is not feeling well today." said Akashi. "He will not come to school today."  
  
Bloodberry was frustrated. She wanted to see Otaru, and tell him how she felt about him.  
  
Her feelings couldn't be expressed to Otaru, that made her feel bad.  
  
She walked towards Akashi, and stared at the drums set.  
  
Akashi left his drums and went to the side to take a sip to a cup of water. He saw Bloodberry staring at the drums.  
  
"I'm feeling really bad, Akashi." said Bloodberry.  
  
"Oh..." Akashi thought a while, and said, "Do you want to try to play the drums?"  
  
"Huh?" Bloodberry looked at Akashi.  
  
"I think playing drums is a way to relieve from tension. Everytime I feel bad I played it and after that I feel much better." said Akashi.  
  
"Really?" Bloodberry thought there was nothing to lose to play a little, may be it could really help, and lord she wanted to play this thing for a long time.  
  
Bloodberry sat on the seat behind the drums set. Akashi gave her the drum sticks.  
  
"Try to hit them this way." Akashi held Bloodberry's hands, instructed her how to play it.  
  
Bloodberry had a special feeling when Akashi was holding her hands. She looked at Akashi, and she felt like Otaru was holding her hands.  
  
It's so warm. She liked the feeling.  
  
--  
  
Lime, as usual, was on the branch again.  
  
But, not as usual, she was not talking to Squirrely. She was staring somewhere else, thinking.  
  
"Squirrelly, I will have to get married with Otaru." Lime told Squirrelly. "I don't know what to do."  
  
"Eric, what can I do?" Lime thought.  
  
And at that time, "Lime!" Lime heard Eric.  
  
Eric was below the tree.  
  
"Hi Eric..." said Lime.  
  
He put down his stuff and climbed up the tree, he could do it smoothly now.  
  
Lime looked at Eric. "oh! You changed your hair style!"  
  
"Yes... hehe..."  
  
"Your hair looks like... Otaru's!" said Lime, and when she thought of Otaru, she looked elsewhere.  
  
"Hey Lime, this time I brought some sushi." said Eric.  
  
"Hmm... thank you Eric." said Lime, tried hard to smile.  
  
"Yeah Lime, today after school it's the Blues Festival gig and my band with perform. I'm sure you gonna come right?"  
  
"... Yes of course."  
  
"Here is the ticket, it's in front row. I have got the best ticket for you."  
  
"Thank you..."  
  
Eric noticed that Lime didn't look ok. She looked worried.  
  
"  
Lime, are you okay?" asked Eric.  
  
"Oh... I'm fine." Lime managed to smile.  
  
"... ok then." Eric took out the box of sushi from his backpack.  
  
Eric and Lime were having the sushi. But after having 3 pieces, Lime put down the chopsticks.  
  
"I'm full..."  
  
Eric was surprised. That was the first time he saw Lime was like that.  
  
"Lime, what's the matter? There must be something wrong. Tell me please." said Eric.  
  
"Eric..." Lime said. "My dad and Otaru's father are very good friends..."  
  
"And now... my dad told me I have to marry Otaru. We will get married later this year... I don't know what to do..."  
  
A pair of chopsticks dropped down to the ground from Eric's hand.  
  
Eric couldn't believe what Lime said. But she didn't look like she was kidding. She never kidded people this way.  
  
This was disasteous for Eric. He felt like a million needles had stung his body and his heart.  
  
"No..." Eric was thinking.  
  
"Lime... I..." Eric wanted to tell Lime how he felt towards her.  
  
"I... I..."  
  
But, he couldn't do it.  
  
"I... I have to go now, sorry."  
  
Eric was a total loser on this field apparently.  
  
Lime said bye to him, but it's like he wasn't listening. Eric quickly climbed down the tree, pick up his stuff and went away quickly, as quick as he could.  
  
--  
  
In the class, Eric was at his seat, he was looking at the table.  
  
His hand was holding a pencil, very tightly.  
  
"Oh no... Lime... no..." Eric was thinking. He felt so bad, he was shivering, his eyes was full of tears but he managed to make them not dropping out. He knew that Lime didn't even know how he felt towards her, how Eric wanted to be with her every single day.  
  
He finally bended the pencil.  
  
"Otaru... you'd better treat Lime well... or I won't forgive you."  
  
--  
  
Go to Chapter 12, "Have You Ever Loved A Woman?". 


	12. Have You Ever Loved A Woman?

12. Have You Ever Loved A Woman?  
  
After school, Lime entered the hall and found her seat. It's in the middle of the front row.  
  
"Ladies and Gentleman! Welcome to the Blues Feastival Concert..." said the announcer.  
  
The show went on for about an hour. Lime wasn't in the mood to listen, she was thinking about something else.  
  
"And now, the moment you've been waiting for, the Cream of Chicken!" said the announcer.  
  
So here is Eric's turn. Lime looked at the stage.  
  
She saw Eric, Ginger and Jack entered the stage. Ginger sat down behind the drums, Jack put on his bass, and Eric put on his guitar as well.  
  
Lime saw Eric's face, she was close so she could see clearly. He looked sad.  
  
Lime had noticed that Eric was not okay since this morning.  
  
Eric came to his microphone. he said nothing and started to play his guitar.  
  
It's "Bell Bottom Blues".  
  
Eric saw Lime was on her seat. She looked as lovely as she always was.  
  
Eric sang.  
  
"Bell Bottom Blues, makes me cry,  
But I don't want to lose this feeling.  
If I could choose a place to die,  
It would be in your arms..."  
  
Eric was looking at Lime while he was singing and playing. What he was singing was just like the words he always wanted to say to Lime.  
  
In Eric's mind, there was no audience, it's only him, and Lime in this hall.  
  
Then it's the chorus.  
  
"... Do you wanna see me crawl across the floor to you?  
Do you wanna hear me beg you to take me back?  
Oh I would gladly do it because  
I don't want to fade away  
Give me one more day please  
I don't want to fade away..."  
  
Eric thought he could do anything, ANYTHING, only if he could have Lime back.  
  
Eric was looking at Lime in the eyes, and he sang.  
  
"... in your heart, I want to stay..."  
  
Eric closed his eyes. He remembered the good times he had been with Lime, everyday.  
  
He opened his eyes, looked at Lime. Eric smiled lightly.  
  
Lime noticed Eric was looking at her, she felt that his stare was different. He was smiling to her.  
  
"...It's all wrong, but it's all right,  
The way that you treat me baby.  
Once I was strong, but I lost the fight.  
You won't find a better loser..."  
  
"...Bell bottom blues, don't you say goodbye,  
Surely we gonna meet again.  
And if we do, don't you be surprised  
when you can't find me with another lover... oh"  
  
Eric sang the chorus twice.  
  
Eric was thinking.  
  
"Lime..."  
  
"Otaru..."  
  
It hurted.  
  
Eric closed his eyes and shouted the last line.  
  
"... in your heart it's THERE I want to stay!"  
  
They made the ending bit and the song ended.  
  
The audience clapped loudly. It was the hottest song at that time, the theme song of the blockbuster movie "The Led Zeppelin".  
  
Lime noticed there is something in this performance. Eric was looking at her all the way in the song. The way he smiled to her. The way he shouted the last line.  
  
Eric looked down, said nothing.  
  
He set his guitar to woman tone, with the guitar switched to use only the treble (bridge) pickup and switched off the rhythm (neck) pickup, turned the tone value to zero, then played the next song.  
  
It's "Have You Ever Loved A Woman". A slow 12 bars blues song.  
  
Eric looked at Lime again. And then he began to sing.  
  
"Have you ever loved a woman,  
So much, you tremble in pain?  
All the time you know  
She bears another man's name..."  
  
Eric knew what he was singing. He was talking about himself.  
  
"...Have you ever loved a woman?"  
  
He did. He loved Lime a lot.  
  
"So Much!" Eric shouted. He closed his eyes and played a fierce, blistering riff.  
  
"...It's a shame and a sin..."  
  
"And you know all the time"  
  
"She belongs to your very best friend..."  
  
Eric knew now Lime belonged to Otaru.  
  
That was so painful. Eric just looked down, playing his guitar solo. The solo was slow and sad.  
  
Eric was looking at the floor, but in his eyes it was not the floor, it's a picture.  
  
A picture of Otaru and Lime inside a church, during a wedding ceremony.  
  
"No... NNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Eric closed his eyes and wanted to scream. But the scream didn't come from his mouth. It came from his guitar.  
  
He played several blistering, heartbreaking riffs, one after one. It was so terrible, it sounded like the scream from someone who was burning in hell.  
  
The audience was stunned. They had never heard anything like this before. They all clapped their hands.  
  
"Eric..." Lime worried about him.  
  
Eric opened his eyes. His mind was filled with anger, jealousy, sadness...  
  
...and of course, love.  
  
His mind was about to explode.  
  
He then shouted as hard as he could.  
  
"Have you ever loved a woman!"  
  
"And you know you can't leave her alone! And you know! Yes you know you can't..."  
  
He then played a fierce riff.  
  
After the shout, he felt weak. he felt like falling on the floor but he managed to stand.  
  
"Something deep inside of you"  
  
He looked at Lime again. His eyes was full of tears.  
  
"Won't let you wreck your best friend's..."  
  
Eric closed his eyes. The pain was killing him. His heart was torn apart like a paper, and he could hear the sound produced by tearing his heart.  
  
"...HOOOME!!!" Eric shouted, with a painful expression. The tears ran down on his cheek.  
  
Lime was so close she could see the tears. She covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh Eric..."  
  
He played the ending. Then the song came to an end.  
  
The crowd gave Eric a standing ovation. They gave Eric the loudest applause ever in JIS.  
  
It was so emotional! Eric now was no longer the emotionless guitar playing machine that just sounded good!  
  
Eric stood on the stage, with his eyes closed, his pick was dropped on the stage floor.  
  
Eric opened his eyes, then He walked down the stage.  
  
It was a torture to be there.  
  
He wanted to leave as soon as possible.  
  
And he didn't want to get back here again.  
  
Forever.  
  
--  
  
"Eric?" Lime went to the backstage to look for Eric. He looked bad enough. Lime wanted to find him.  
  
But he wasn't there.  
  
Lime went to every part of the school to look for Eric.  
  
"Eric?" Lime opened the trash can and looked inside.  
  
"Eric?" Lime knelt down and looked at the space below the bench.  
  
"ERIC!!!" Lime shouted in the middle of the JIS park.  
  
No response.  
  
Lime had looked everywhere. But she just couldn't find Eric.  
  
Lime felt bad for Eric. She needed Squirrelly. She climbed up the tree again.  
  
On the branch, she held Squirrelly in her hands.  
  
"Eric... what's wrong with him?"  
  
Lime began to think. He started to act wrong since she told him about she was about to marry Otaru.  
  
The way Eric played on the stage.  
  
"...in your heart, I want to stay..."  
  
The way he played "Have You Ever Loved A Woman".  
  
"...She belongs to your very best friend..."  
  
Lime began to understand. She realized something.  
  
She remembered the whole performance.  
  
She tried to feel how Eric felt.  
  
A tear ran down from Lime's bright eye.  
  
"... Poor Eric..."  
  
Since then, Eric never set foot in JIS again.  
  
--  
  
Go to Chapter 13, "The Ending". 


	13. The Ending

13. The Ending  
  
Five years later.  
  
In a pub in Xian, a man with a beard was sitting by a table, holding a bottle of bourbon. He drank it.  
  
"Hey drunk cat! It's your turn!"  
  
That man put the bottle on the table, then picked up the guitar which was on the table.  
  
"Ladies and Gentleman, please welcome Eric." said the announcer.  
  
That beard man entered the stage. And the audience clapped their hands.  
  
There were some tables in front of the stage, some of them were occupied, most of them were not.  
  
Some of the people in their seats were looking at the stage, the others were doing their things.  
  
Eric plugged his guitar. It was a black Fender Stratocaster.  
  
He then went to the microphone.  
  
"This song is written by my friend Bob. It's called "Knocking On Heaven's Door"."  
  
Then he began to play. It was a reggae number.  
  
There was no more the tight, energetic, uptempo style that he had in Cream of Chicken. The song and his playing was slow and relaxed. He was playing with the wah-wah pedal, and the guitar tone was much thinner and cleaner than five years ago.  
  
Eric began to sing.  
  
"Ma, take this badge off me,  
I can't use it anymore.  
It's getting dark, too dark to see  
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door..."  
  
Eric, as usual, was staring at the wall opposite to the stage far away. But he did look at the audience time to time. When he looked at the tables. He saw something.  
  
It was Lime standing there.  
  
But that didn't surprise Eric. He had that illusion time to time when he was drunk.  
  
He just ignored it and sang the chorus.  
  
"...Knock, Knock, Knocking on heaven's door  
Knock, Knock, Knocking on heaven's door..."  
  
"...Ma, take this gun off me,  
I can't shoot them anymore.  
That long black cloud is comin' down  
I feel like I'm Knockin' on heaven's door... Knock, Knock, knock..."  
  
Then he sang the chorus.  
  
Not long after, the song ended.  
  
Some of the people in their seats clapped their hands.  
  
"Thank you." Eric then went down the stage.  
  
"Eric."  
  
Eric heard a familiar voice. It seemed that he had heard it long long time ago before.  
  
Eric looked to the audience. He saw Lime was looking at him.  
  
"Jeez... I shouldn't have drank too much." thought Eric. Then he kept on walking out of the stage.  
  
Lime rushed to the side of the stage, in front of Eric.  
  
"Eric, it's me." said Lime. She held his hand.  
  
--  
  
Eric and Lime was walking in a park, on their way to Eric's home. It was 5pm.  
  
"So, how did you find me?" asked Eric.  
  
"I asked many people." said Lime. "I asked the housekeeper of the guesthouse you stayed in Japones, she said you were living in this area."  
  
"And then after I came here, I asked many local people, but I was in vain." Lime said. "Until this morning I saw the poster outside the pub by chance. I saw your name there."  
  
"I see..." Eric said. He knew Lime had tried very hard to look for him. But now he wanted to know more about Lime's family.  
  
"Hmm... so how is Cherry and Bloodberry?"  
  
"Bloodberry just married to Akashi last month." said Lime, "And Cherry was married to Faust about a year ago. They just went to New Texas last week with the Titanic."  
  
"Yes I know, I read the news." said Eric. "They are now on tour."  
  
Eric knew that Faust was signed by the record company Pacific Records 3 years ago. The company was the biggest in New Texas. The Titanic now was the biggest band of that time.  
  
"How about you then? Why are you still performing in the small pub?" asked Lime.  
  
"Well... actually there was some record companies interested in me, but later after they found out about my drinking problem, they turned me down. And you know I must perform in the pub, I must try to make a living and..." Eric was about to say he also needed the money to buy his beverages, but of course, he stopped so Lime wouldn't know about it.  
  
"Hmm... why you had to drink that much?" asked Lime.  
  
Eric didn't know how to answer that question. He drank and drank everyday with a purpose that he nearly forgot - oh yes, initially he had to drink to ease and forget his pain, the pain generated by his loneliness and, the most importantly, the fact that he left Lime.  
  
Eric didn't want Lime to know about it. He then tried to change the subject.  
  
"Well... yeah, where is your husband, Otaru?" asked Eric.  
  
"Otaru..." said Lime. "He died one week after you left JIS."  
  
Eric stopped walking. He was shocked. His good friend, a great guitarist, had died.  
  
"He died in a traffic accident." said Lime.  
  
"What a damn shame..." said Eric, looked down, and then looked at Lime again. "Then... you..."  
  
"I'm still single." said Lime.  
  
Eric looked at Lime in the eyes.  
  
"Why don't you get married? Your sisters are married."  
  
"Eric... I was waiting for you." said Lime.  
  
Eric stood there, looking at Lime.  
  
"Eric... I know you love me... and..."  
  
"... I love you."  
  
When Eric heard the three words from Lime that he had always longed for, Eric felt that the burden that kept haunting him for a very very long time was finally disappeared. Inside him now he was like the one he was five years ago. And in his eyes he saw the place where they were standing was actually in the park of JIS.  
  
Eric looked at Lime in the eyes, he noticed she hadn't changed a bit, she was just the same as five years ago.  
  
Eric felt he was comfortable, the feeling he hadn't had for so long time he couldn't remember how long.  
  
Eric hugged Lime, very tightly.  
  
"I will never, EVER, leave you again!"  
  
Two rivers of tears ran down from Eric's eyes.  
  
The screen was changed to the 16:9 widescreen format. The yellow leaves of autumn started falling on Eric and Lime. You can see the screen was going up and getting away from Eric and Lime. It is panning to the sky, with the sun about to set and the birds were flying over.  
  
Then here comes a background song, "I Was Born To Love You" By Queen.  
  
The screen faded to black and then it comes the credits.  
  
--  
  
Part of the credits are here, in the order of appearance:  
  
Faust - Jimmy Page  
Eric - Eric Clapton  
Ginger - Ginger Baker  
Jack - Jack Bruce  
Cream of Chicken - Cream  
Otaru - Jimi Hendrix  
Tiger - Robert Plant (female version :P)  
Luchs - John Paul Jones (female version)  
Panther - John Bonham (female version)  
The Kings - Queen  
Freddie - Freddie Mercury  
Brian - Brian May  
Akashi - Mitch Mitchell  
Rolling Rocks - Rolling Stones  
Titanic - Led Zeppelin  
The Otaru Experience - Jimi Hendrix Experience  
Bob - Bob Dylan  
  
The rest are acted by themselves from the original Saber Marionette J series.  
  
The songs are not written by me and they belong to their respective owners.  
  
Please post a review to my story in this website, Fanfiction.net. Thank you very much. You can post one by using the drop box at the lower left corner of this page.  
  
If you have any feedback to me, please email me at moc.rotagivten@emilevoli (reverse it). You can call me Chungsoft.  
  
--  
  
Wait a minute! Check out Chapter 14 to see the alternate version of this chapter! 


	14. Alternate Ending

A Lover's Blues Alternative Ending  
2nd Version to Chapter 13 of SMJ fan fiction "A Lover's Blues"  
  
-=*THE LOST TAPE!!*=- Alternate version of Chapter 13 of SMJ fan fiction "A Lover's Blues"! Just recovered by Amsterdam Police after a bust! :) Now it becomes the DVD bonus feature! Please review.  
--  
  
Eric was drunk and standing on the platform of a railway train station, waiting for the next train to come.  
  
He stood there with an emotionless face, holding a bottle of bourbon.  
  
"... Yes, certainly, you jump down the platform, then you can be with Lime again... forever."  
  
Eric kept having this voice in his ears.  
  
"...Do you want to be with Lime again?"  
  
A train is approaching.  
  
"Yes! I want to... I want to be with her..."  
  
Eric jumped out of the platform, and the train hitted him. It's too late, the train was unable to stop on time.  
  
--  
  
Three years later, in a mental hospital.  
  
"Lime, let me hold your hand." said Eric, "let's go for dinner."  
  
Eric was walking on the corridor of the hospital, holding Lime's hand when they walked.  
  
Someone, a patient, walked by Eric's side and hitted Eric's hand and shoulder which he was holding Lime's hand.  
  
"Hey you fool!" Eric was pissed off, he pushed the patient very hard, and the patient fell on the floor.  
  
"Be careful! Didn't you see Lime here? You must apologize!" said Eric angrily.  
  
"Oh... Eric I didn't see it's you." said the patient. "Sorry Ms Lime."  
  
The patient stood up and walked away.  
  
Eric tried to pull Lime up.  
  
"Are you ok? He is just so foolish."  
  
--  
  
Eric was in the canteen, on a queue to take his dinner.  
  
Then it's Eric's turn.  
  
"Hey Eric." said the lady who gave the food.  
  
"Hi Ma'am." said Eric.  
  
"This is yours." said the lady as she passed the food to Eric.  
  
"And this is for Lime." said the lady, who gave Eric another dish of food, looked in Eric's face.  
  
"Thank you." said Eric, he held the dishes and walked away.  
  
The lady saw him walked away, and sighed.  
  
--  
  
"Hey Lime, sorry for made you waited for so long." said Eric. He put a dish of food on the table, next to his seat.  
  
Eric put down his own dish on the table in front of his seat. And he sit down.  
  
"Lime, this is one of my favourite, grilled chicken with potato marsh in gravy. I think you gotta like it."  
  
Eric saw Lime was similing to him, told him that she liked the food.  
  
Eric started having his dinner.  
  
--  
  
Far away, just outside the canteen, Dr Hess and his colleages were looking at Eric through a window.  
  
"This is one of the most interesting schizophrenia case I have ever known." said Dr Hess.  
  
"He barely survived after he was crashed by a railway train 3 years ago. And since then, he developed that illusion that a girl named "Lime" was always be with him."  
  
"We had tried to give him medications but after that he became violent and keep going everywhere to look for that girl." said Dr Hess. "He won't sleep, won't eat, won't drink, until he will find her."  
  
"So, as long as he is not creating trouble and staying here, we will not give him any medications."  
  
--  
  
Eric had finished his dinner.  
  
"Lime, let's go to the park to take a walk."  
  
Eric held Lime's hand again, and they walked away.  
  
In the park, everything was beautiful, the sky was clear and the moon and the stars were shining bright, there was a comfortable breeze.  
  
They sat down on a bench. Eric was happy, he was being in this beautiful scene with Lime.  
  
A smile came to Eric's face. Finally, he could be with Lime everyday.  
  
For the rest of his life.  
  
Then the screen switched to 16:9 widescreen format. The screen was panning away from Eric and Lime and towards the sky. The silver moon and the stars were showing on the screen.  
  
Then here comes the background song, "A Winter's Tale" by Queen.  
  
The screen faded black and here comes the credit.  
  
-- the end --  
  
Please give me a review. Thanks so much. 


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